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Next Critical Business Decision - Without Wires:
An In-Depth Look at Wireless Today By Surya Jayaweera, CEO WolfeTech Development Corporation The subject of wireless can seem vast and daunting. I founded my company to make wireless an everyday tool, not an overwhelming, fear-instilling, tomorrow-land technology. With all the acronyms to deconstruct, it's easy for me to place myself in the nascent wireless scholar's shoes - CDMA, LAN, 3G, UWB, GSM, UMTS, WLAN, CDPD, and GPRS are just a few to make your head spin. In addition to the intimidating acronyms, a few added downturns like the dot com fall out, the Wall Street beatings, and the NASDAQ technology slump make the picture of the wireless landscape even more difficult to wade through. The picture that has evolved seems to provide evidence that some wireless/technology colleagues aren't to be trusted. Many in this industry have fallen by the wayside amidst all the hot air, trickery, and hype that they themselves created. Even still, a few are still standing and proclaiming louder than ever that the year of true wireless is still to come. We are now more connected than ever. My original forecasts for wireless in the business sector have come to fruition and even surpassed those made when I founded my company five years ago. Any business publication you can find on the newsstand today is sure to have at least one article referencing at least two of the intimidating acronyms referenced above. When the average wireless customer uses 422 minutes of wireless voice services per month, it's apparent that this world we live in is now more connected by fewer wires than ever. Despite the apparent contradictions of good wireless/bad technology, wireless technology in the shape of wireless data in the Corporation is thriving and improving business today. In "Wireless Data Implementation Survey: What Does the Corporate World Think About Wireless Data?" industry visionary, writer, analyst, and consultant Andrew Seybold offers supporting evidence for this trend. Seybold states, "We found that IT and MIS professionals are bullish on deploying wireless data with their internal customers and that they have budgeted funds to at least take the first steps toward this goal." Wireless data is a business tool. Business is always looking for more tools, more arrows for its quiver. Groups like the Software Council of Southern California have done much to illuminate this business tool for and by the software industry through such events as their mid-June Technology Special Interest Group (T-SIG) dinner earlier this month. In support of Mr. Seybold's assertions that wireless data for the corporation is here to stay, the evening featured a key case study by Ray Duncan, Director of Technology and Architecture for Cedars-Sinai Health System. Mr. Duncan presented a history of Cedars-Sinai's wireless data implementation and despite the many device, network, and WLAN options, he served as a practical, living example of how wireless data in the corporation is here to stay. Business, as I predicted five years ago, does not need the advertisements found on the desktop experience of the Internet - much of the multi-sensory experience of the Internet is a waste of precious business time. The Enterprise wants the meat - the raw data in a useable format. Wireless seems to highlight the very importance of each word, each second. Wireless data should give your business two things: provide succinct bits of information and provide key access to critical applications. In short, what one needs wirelessly is as simple as a stock quote, a phone number, directions, or flight status, and access to critical systems like inventory, or your CRM application. To reiterate Mr. Jeff Ballard, SCSC Member and President of Satellite Marketing, we are in the "NOW" Economy and business has always been in the NOW Economy, with the exception of a 10-year gap in time (or judgment) we now call the Dot Com era. This notion of 'now' is another key factor when evaluating your need for information without strings. Pick a solution that works now - not a solution that is contingent on a third party application yet to be released or a network upgrade promised for next quarter. The T-SIG panel presented a similar message noting that the best wireless solution is not one device, on one network utilizing one technology or language, rather that the best solution is what works for your needs now. While the software that I develop is device independent and is based on open standards, it would be simple to endorse a few solutions I know to work exceptionally in the business context, especially with such high praise as this: "Al Gore
has one. So does Bill Gates. It's standard issue for attorneys at
Cravath Swaine & Moore, a prestigious corporate law firm, and
widely used by investment bankers at Merrill Lynch & Co., the
nation's biggest brokerage firm. It's the BlackBerry. And since
its introduction nearly three years ago, the handheld corporate
email device has amassed many high-profile devotees and become an
indispensable tool for the mobile professional. Even the Toronto
Blue Jays take them on road trips." "If I had
to choose only one wireless product, it would be the RIM 957 BlackBerry
wireless handheld." As a company, WolfeTech was the first to release a commercial application for RIM's Wireless Handheld™ - so in many ways, we are leaders in developing for this device. Surya Jayaweera is founder and CEO of WolfeTech Development Corporation, a privately held software development company located in Claremont, California. Prior to founding WolfeTech, Mr. Jayaweera worked with Andersen Consulting and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as part of the Automated Intelligent Mechatronics and Machine Vision Laboratory. Mr. Jayaweera earned a B.S. in engineering from the prestigious Harvey Mudd College. Mr. Jayaweera has spoken as an industry expert at Wireless IT, the International Wireless Communications Expo and SuperComm, some of the largest annual communications and information technology exhibitions and conferences. For more specific
information about wireless products and solutions, visit www.wolfetech.com.
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